mash up with travelogues, books, movies, music and all things in between

Monday, 19 September 2011

No woman, no cry

Bomb Blast in Agra Private Hospital was the headline on Google India News yesterday. Alarmed and hoping for the best as two of my Uncles (and Aunts) run private hospitals in Agra, I called up home. Turned out that the hospital in question was not directly connected, but actually did belong to some of our distant relatives. I think everyone is safe, but I was shaken and somewhat stirred, but then what can you really do about these things? The government comes up with tired responses on how this could be a terrorist attack and the perpetrators will not be spared, but have we seen any of the perpetrators caught or brought to task so far? Unfortunately, this is routine news in India and one can only hope and pray that our near and dear ones are safe..

One of my friends called and told me that she lost her job recently. She was upset and I tried cheering her up with cheesy one liners: "Its not personal, its business" - ala Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan in You've got mail. But the reality is (as Meg's character says) "its not personal to you, but its personal to me!" Behind the falling stock market, surging gold prices, inverted yield curve, behind all the numbers on Bloomberg, there is a human face that no one sees. At the end of the day as we all invest so much of ourselves into our work, business is very personal..

Another old friend has been very upset lately. I've seen her go through extreme highs and lows, relationship pains you see..I happened to catch up with her yesterday and things are still rocky. She is hurt, confused yet hopeful. Another friend has just broken up from a seemingly happy relationship and was shell-shocked and trying to piece her life together. She is also hurt, confused but has no hope..Which brings me to a Carrie Bradshaw like moment - Is not being in a relationship better than being in an unhappy one? I don't know anymore..

And so with a heavy heart, I decided to put on my running shoes and my iPod and catch the last bit of sunshine. I was stopped in my tracks by this guy singing with his guitar in an alley of the streets. His lilting voice rang out melancholic and powerful. A man standing next to him was swaying to his music. The rhythm of the song was slow, probably 'coz he was singing his heart out, like he felt every word and he really believed in the promise of those words. A woman with a glass of wine stood in the corner but as I glanced towards her, she turned away to hide her tears. Maybe she was just moved by the magic of his voice and the beauty of the words..Or maybe she had gone through a lot of pain, but the song told her to not lose faith and hope.

So this for everyone out there, as someone recently said to me - "may you find your little patch of sunshine soon.."

My feet is my only carriage
So I've got to push on through
But while I'm gone...

About Me

Eternally curious and seriously opinionated..In these pages you will find me questioning and opining on norms, issues, cultures, films, music, books, fashion and anything under the sun really! Looking forward to a constructive dialogue with you my dear readers and I hope you find this an interesting read!